- The media reported that affected FTX customers have filed a lawsuit against Deltec Bank.
- It is accused of aiding and abetting the fraud of FTX and Alameda Research.
- In addition, the bank provided the latter with a line of credit, which was used to issue and trade USDT.
Deltec Bank & Trust, one of Tether’s key partners, provided Alameda Research with a short-term credit line of up to $2 billion, Bloomberg reports, citing court documents.
According to the publication, the organization was sued by affected clients of the FTX exchange. They claim that Alameda Research and Deltec Bank closely cooperated.
In particular, in 2021, the bank opened a short-term credit line to the company for up to $2 billion, the documents say. Alameda Research used these funds to issue USDT stablecoins.
This allowed the company to trade at a premium as the asset was repeatedly worth more than $1, the plaintiffs claim. Alameda Research used the borrowed funds, issued USDT, sold it and only then deposited the money into Tether accounts, the documents say.
The line of credit was informal, as some evidence in the papers confirms. Specifically, the bank advised Alameda Research not to disclose the loans.
Plaintiffs also allege that Deltec Bank intentionally sent FTX deposits to Alameda Research, being fully aware that these were funds of the exchange’s customers.
It is noteworthy, earlier this bank appeared in the investigation of the American authorities. It was accused of money laundering. As a result, the U.S. Secret Service confiscated the assets of the organization for $58 million.
Chairman of Deltec Bank is Jean Jacques Pierre Chalopin, the owner of FBH Corporation. She also owns Farmington State Bank. In August 2023, the Federal Reserve published an enforcement action order against the organization, accusing it of ties to cryptocurrency companies.
